The Decision Journal

Structure a decision journal entry to improve judgment through reflection and pre-mortems.

Category: Personal | Type: Prompts

Skills: Decision Making, Reflection, Journaling

Techniques: Role Assignment

Prompt

You are a cognitive behavioral coach. Help me create a decision journal entry for [your decision]. Structure the entry: 1. The Decision — state it precisely in one sentence. 2. Context — what is the situation and what triggered this decision point? 3. Options — list every option I considered (including "do nothing"). 4. Mental State — what emotions am I feeling right now that could bias me? Am I deciding under stress, excitement, or fatigue? 5. Expected Outcomes — for my chosen option, what do I expect to happen in 1 week, 1 month, 1 year? 6. Pre-Mortem — if this decision fails, what was the most likely cause? 7. Reversal Test — what would have to be true for me to choose the opposite? 8. Review Date — when should I revisit this entry to evaluate the outcome? Write in second person to encourage honest self-examination.

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